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With Ronan Keating's second CD
single disqualified from the charts it left the
door wide open for Five to score their second
number one and Queen their sixth chart topper.
Five don't have a particularly good history of
week two sales and so I would expect them to give
way. That said this is a particularly
sparse week for new releases.
Most likely artist to reach number
one this week has to be Craig David. It
seems he can do no wrong even though he carries
the unenviable title of "Britain's Best R'N'B
Singer". A step up from "Fill Me
In", "Seven Days" hits the spot
and is one of the first proper summer songs to be
released this year. This would sound
perfect on a lazy sunny afternoon with the window
down driving down a green and scenic country lane.
Normally this might find itself stuck at number
two, but I can't see many other heavyweights to
challenge him.
If that is the best selling single
of the week then the best single of the week has
to go to Different Gear vs The Police and their
"When The World Is Running Down" single.
It's one of those rare dance mixes which actually
makes the record even more listenable and with
Sting's love of Puff Daddy's work on "Every
Breath You Take" and "Roxanne" it
is also one of the rare mixes to meet with band
approval. If only his solo work was this
interesting...
This week sees two bands come to
the fore who have been seriously hyped but have
yet to make the grade, Pete Waterman's
runaway Steps were sure to be role models for
other would be glamorous boy and girl bands and
it was almost inevitable that Matt Stock and Mike
Aitken would come up with a team to take on their
old writing partner. The result was Scooch,
who despite their awful name are actually quite
good. It's all bubblegum pop and it's not
really the deep and meaningful stuff that say
John Lennon would write, but that said music is
about bringing a smile to the face of the
listener and Scooch can certainly boast that
amongst their talents. Yet to build up a
serious fan base this will grace the top twenty
but may find itself outside the top ten.
Point Break are yet another boy
band and if the truth be known they are just
another boy band. This will skittle in
around number 15, and then plummet in week two to
the mid thirties. It's ok as their material
goes but if they all retired to the golf course
tomorrow I don't think the world of music would
be a worse off place.
Macy Gray looks set to follow in
the footsteps of her last single with her release
"Why Didn't You Call Me." I'd be
lying if I said I was amongst her biggest fans
but "I Try" was a fine tune that worked
its way inside your head and never left you
during the working day. On the other hand
this is just irritating but expect to see it in
the lower reaches of the top twenty as I know
enough of you will disagree with me to put it
there!
Headed for the top ten this week
despite their relative inexperience are the
Bomfunk MC's. I still think that the term
MC conjurs up naff images of 80's rappers
dripping in gold jewellery. I should also
point out to anyone who worshipped any such stars
that this song fits firmly in the pop category
and gross flattery to the band would be committed
if this were found under the banner of dance or
rap.
He may be older than the top ten
put together but Santana is enjoying his biggest
success in the singles chart in his long and
distinguished career. "Samba Pa Ti"
began it all for them in 1974 while more recently
"Smooth" introduced them to the
top three for the first time. This is
nowhere near as immediate as its predeccesor
although in America this has already sold by the
truckload. This record will sell by name
and reputation but not necessarily in its own
right.
Morcheeba's last album went
platignum which is no mean feat for a band who
have enjoyed just two ventures into the top 40
("Trigger Hippier" in 1996 and more
recently "Part of the Process" in 1998).
"Rome Wasn't Built In A Day" has had a
much bigger build up and I would not be surprised
to see this beat their previous peak of 38.
Finally worth a mention are Moloko.
A band whose popularity has certainly been on the
increase over recent months and now look certain
to bring out another top ten hit. "Pure
Pleasure Seeker" sounds much fresher than
the third single from the album which it truly is.
It is coming out at just the right time to mix
with the Balearic crowd on their holidays and
should enjoy top end of the chart status.
So Craig David will surely take up
his rightful place at number one - the eighth new
artist in as many weeks to do so! See you
next week to see if I am right.
JHME Music Correspondent
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